


The Confrontation

by EmberCartwright



Series: Tyzula Things [64]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Catharsis, Confrontations, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Post-Canon, Public Display of Affection, tyzula - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberCartwright/pseuds/EmberCartwright
Summary: Ty Lee goes to see Ozai in prison and gives him a piece of her mind that she's been holding onto for a long time. Afterwards Azula takes the opportunity to do the same thing.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Series: Tyzula Things [64]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019697
Comments: 1
Kudos: 99





	The Confrontation

Ty Lee stepped slowly through the prison. 

“State your business,” a guard said to her when she reached the door marking the end of the general population cells and the start of high security. 

“I have permission from the Fire Lord,” she said, handing him a sealed scroll. 

He opened it and looked over the contents. 

“Are you sure you want to see him,” the guard asked, opening the door with firebending. 

“He’s harmless, isn’t he,” Ty Lee asked. 

The guard nodded as he indicated for her to follow. 

“He was also known for his unkind words,” the guard said. 

“There’s nothing he can say that I haven’t heard before,” Ty Lee replied. 

“Just be careful,” the guard said, opening a second door. “I’ll wait outside so if you want to leave just knock on the door. Otherwise visitation is limited to an hour so you’ll be asked to leave after that.”

Ty Lee nodded and stepped through. She knew she didn’t need anywhere near that long to accomplish what she wanted.

Former Fire Lord Ozai sat cross legged in the dark cell. 

“I didn’t realize that they were giving the general population permission to visit me,” he said. 

“I’m not the general population,” Ty Lee said, walking over to stand close to the bars but not close enough for him to reach. Even without firebending she was still wary around him. 

He looked her up and down. 

“You certainly look familiar,” he drawled in a way that reminded Ty Lee too much of Azula. She tightened her fists. 

“We’ve met,” she said perkily with a fake smile. “You don’t remember?”

“Are you a relative perhaps? My failure of a son wouldn’t allow just anyone to come here,” Ozai said. 

“We’re related,” Ty Lee said. “But not by blood.”

Ozai smirked.

“Did you marry the sniveling idiot,” he asked. “You look to be a little out of his league but I guess the Fire Lord, even a false one, is entitled to some arm candy.”

“Is that anyway to talk about the ruler of your country,” Ty Lee said, sitting down so she was eye to eye with Ozai. 

Besides her balled up fists she hadn’t betrayed any emotion. Azula had trained her to hide her thoughts well. 

“So are you the “Fire Lady” then?” Ozai asked with air quotes. 

“No,” Ty Lee responded. “I’m merely a princess.”

Ozai raised an eyebrow. 

“He didn’t coronate you? He always seemed like a sap.”

“I’m not married to Zuko,” Ty Lee said. 

“Then how are you a princess,” Ozai asked.

“I’ll let you think about that one. They always did say you were very smart,” Ty Lee said. “Or maybe Zuko got his intuition from you, and Azula’s cunning comes from her mother,” she posited. 

Ozai’s eyebrows drew together in slight confusion for a few moments and suddenly they shot up into a genuine expression of surprise. 

“I think you got something,” Ty Lee said. She sounded cool and confident but on the inside she was both terrified and angry, both emotions that were hard for her to keep confined. 

“You didn’t…” he trailed off. “She isn’t…”

“I did,” Ty Lee said, “and she is.”

“You married Azula?” Ozai asked. 

Ty Lee lifted her left hand and displayed her rings. One was an engagement ring with a large pink diamond, and the second was a golden wedding band. 

“Are you the circus freak that used to follow her around with puppy dog eyes?” Ozai asked, remembering. 

“The one and only,” Ty Lee said cheerily. “Except now instead of following her, I walk besides her with puppy dog eyes.” 

“Disappointing,” Ozai said.

“What is,” Ty Lee asked.

“How far she’s fallen,” he said. “She was poised for greatness! I made sure of that. And now…” 

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ty Lee said. “You should see how much she’s grown.” 

Ozai rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” Ty Lee asked, tilting her head. 

“Why are you here, Ty Lee,” he said. 

“You remember my name,” she said, clapping her hands together. 

“How does she put up with you,” Ozai asked. 

“A little bit of love can help you see past someone's more annoying tendencies and Azula loves me a lot.”

Ozai chuckled.

“You truly seem to believe that,” he said. 

“I know it,” Ty Lee said eagerly. 

“I can only imagine how soft and disappointing she is now, my prodigy of a daughter,” Ozai said. “If she can see something in you.” 

“Are you judging my character?” Ty Lee asked.

“You seem to be a thoughtless, shallow airhead,” Ozai spat at her. “From what I can tell, you’re the one that ruined my daughter.”

Ty Lee threw her head back and laughed.

“That’s really funny of you to say that,” she said darkly, bringing her hand to grab the bars. “That actually brings me to why I came.”

“And why is that,” Ozai asked. 

“It’s been said that when you don’t have your bending a person can come and speak their mind, and you’ve been without your bending for almost ten years now so I’m going to speak and you’re going to listen,” Ty Lee said. 

“Did you go to Zuko to borrow that little speech,” Ozai said. “You must be really proud of yourself for that.”

Ty Lee shrugged. 

“I’m not dissatisfied with my delivery,” she said. 

Ozai rolled his eyes again. 

“I guess I have no choice but to listen,” he purred. 

This time Ty Lee visibly cringed at how similar he sounded to her ‘Zula. 

Ozai noticed. 

“I remind you of her, don’t I,” he said. 

“You’re nothing like her,” Ty Lee growled, dropping the calm demeanor altogether. 

Ozai chuckled. 

“I’m exactly like her. I made her like me,” he said. 

“No,” Ty Lee said, her tone raising. “You fucked her up, bad, but she is stronger than that. She’s a hundred times stronger than you!” 

Now Ozai laughed. 

“Who are you trying to convince? Did you come here just for the catharsis of yelling at me? You can’t take your frustrations with her out on me,” he said. 

“I’m not frustrated with her. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me, I love her,” Ty Lee said. “I’m here to yell at you on her behalf because no one ever did and she deserves that.”

“Why now,” Ozai asked. “Why not five weeks ago? Why not five years ago?”

“I finally decided what I would say,” Ty Lee said. “And Zuko had to be sure I wouldn’t kill you.”

“Right,” Ozai said, rolling his eyes. 

“You are the absolute lowest a human can get. You’re an abuser and a manipulator and you don’t care about anyone but yourself and you never did,” Ty Lee said. 

Ozai opened his mouth to respond but Ty Lee cut him off. 

“I’m not done,” she yelled. “The idea that a _thing_ like you can have such a lasting effect on the person I love is disgusting. You were, and are, weak. I know you will rot in here for the rest of your life and I take pleasure in it,” Ty Lee spat. 

She took a few ragged breaths. 

“Now I’m done,” she said, suddenly cheery again. 

“I seem to have misjudged you,” Ozai said. “You might have a little more depth than you make yourself out to have.”

Ty Lee tilted her head and looked at him. 

“You have an exceptional talent: the ability to completely mask your feelings from a casual observer. I can see how Azula would be intrigued by you,” he said. “However, I doubt she has the capability to love,” he added as an afterthought. 

“You’re dead wrong about that,” Ty Lee said. She took a deep breath with her eyes closed. “I actually feel much better so I’m just going to go unless you have something else to add?”

“How kind of you for that offer,” Ozai drawled. 

Ty Lee lifted her arm to knock on the door. 

“Wait,” Ozai called out. 

“You’re in no position to make demands,” Ty Lee asked, leaving her fist raised. 

“Is she going to come visit me,” he asked. 

“You don’t deserve that,” Ty Lee said. 

“But what does she want? I bet she thinks about me,” Ozai cackled. “And I’ll bet it kills you.” 

Ty Lee stared at him. 

“All that work you put into molding her to the little wife that you want and I’m still on her mind,” he said. 

Ty Lee knocked on the door and it opened. She turned and stepped out, not looking back. 

She walked out of the prison deftly, taking quick pointed steps. Once outside she walked directly to a bench at the side of the structure. 

“Hey,” she said softly to the woman sitting there. 

Azula looked up from her scroll. 

“Well?” She asked, scooting over so Ty Lee could sit. 

“He’s definitely lost his edge,” she said as Azula closed up her scroll and grabbed Ty Lee’s hand in her own. 

Azula nodded slowly. 

“Do you think I can do it,” she asked quietly. 

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Ty Lee reminded her. 

“I want to,” Azula said. 

“Then you can,” Ty Lee said, squeezing her hand. “He’s just a husk of what he was.” 

“What did you talk about?” Azula asked. 

“Not much,” Ty Lee said with a shrug. “I wanted to see if he could make me feel bad but honestly I kept up pretty well.”

Azula leaned over and kissed her temple. 

“I appreciate you vetting him for me,” she said. “I’m sure you got some things off your chest as well,” she said with a chuckle. 

Ty Lee blushed. 

Azula reached up and grabbed her chin, turning it towards her. 

“I hope you put him in his fucking place baby,” she said, kissing Ty Lee. The acrobat lifted her arms to wrap them around Azula’s shoulders. 

“I sure did,” she said between kisses. 

Azula hummed against her. 

“Hey,” a voice called, causing both women to look up. “No making out in front of the prison,” a guard called from the tower. 

“We’re princesses, we can do whatever we want,” Ty Lee shouted back.

The guard’s head disappeared back into his office.

“That’s what I thought,” Ty Lee yelled again. 

Azula chuckled and kissed her again.  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************  
A few weeks later, Ty Lee stepped through the prison again but this time Azula was by her side. 

She reached out and took her hand, lacing her fingers though Azula’s.

Azula squeezed and Ty Lee squeezed back.

The guard in front of maximum security scanned them up and down but opened the door without asking questions. 

He followed them to Ozai’s cell and they stopped in front of it, waiting for him to open the door. 

“Same rules apply,” he said. “Knock the door if you want to leave. Otherwise, one hour max.”

“If he calls for help or a guard will you come barging in?” Azula asked. 

The guard bit his lip in concern. 

“I’m not going to physically hurt him, I swear,” Azula said.

“I’ll make sure of that,” Ty Lee said. 

“I won’t interrupt unless there is heat from a fire coming through the door,” the guard said. “Anything else, feel free to pursue.”

Azula nodded and he opened the door. 

Ty Lee could feel Azula’s pulse rate rising as the dark cell was flooded with light from the hallway. 

“Well, well, well, two visitors in two months. I’m a very popular convict,” Ozai’s voice came from the inside of the cell. 

Azula stiffened. 

“We can leave right now,” Ty Lee whispered into her ear. “No shame in that.”

Azula shook her head, visibly steeled herself and walked into the cell. Ty Lee followed, still holding her hand. 

“What a pleasant surprise,” Ozai said. “My younger failure.”

Azula glared at him as Ty Lee tugged her hand, indicating for her to sit down. 

They sank to the floor and sat facing him. 

“Ozai,” Azula said coldly. 

“She speaks,” Ozai said, amusedly. 

“I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you but this might actually be the lowlight of my last decade,” Azula said, regaining her composure. 

“I’m not sure ‘Zula,” Ty Lee said. “You’ve had some pretty uncomfortable moments. Remember when Mai had morning sickness and she vomited on you?”

Azula smirked. Ty Lee’s attempt at bantering was achieving its purpose which was to make Azula feel more confident. 

“This is worse than that, love,” Azula said, sitting back into herself and adopting her regal air. 

“What about when we had that beach vacation with Aang and Katara?” Ty Lee asked with a small smile. 

“That was bad,” she said with a nod. “But this is still worse.”

Ty Lee shrugged. She didn’t need to say anything else because she could sense Azula was ready to get into what she actually came to say. 

“Did you send your circus freak to scout me out last time? Is that what that visit was?” Ozai asked. 

“Wouldn’t you love to know,” Azula said. 

“Pathetic,” Ozai said. “You couldn’t even face me yourself first.”

“You misunderstand,” Azula said, leaning forward slightly. “Ty Lee might have been on a scouting mission, but the purpose was really to see if you could provoke me enough to match you to Zuko.”

She lit a small blue flame on the tips of her fingers and brought it through the bars towards her father’s face. 

Azula was immensely pleased to see him lean backwards, just a little bit. 

“The findings were extremely disappointing,” she continued. “You seem to have lost your touch old man.”

She put out her fire and dropped her hand back to her lap. 

“What brings you here,” Ozai asked. “Were you just waiting for me to fall apart? Because I can guarantee I’m still all here.”

Azula chuckled. 

“You’re asking all the wrong questions,” she said. 

“What should I be asking,” Ozai said. 

“You should ask what kept me away all these years,” Azula said. 

They sat in silence for a few moments. 

Ozai was waiting for Azula to speak and Azula was waiting for him to ask. Ty Lee looked between the two of them subtly. She knew mind games were happening but she couldn’t figure out why. 

After a few moments Ozai sighed. 

“What kept you away,” he asked. 

“Well I’m glad you asked,” Azula said. “Firstly, I had absolutely no interest in seeing you. I had to work on myself before I could extend my net of caring to those who are of very little import in my life and in the world.” 

“Is working on yourself code for fucking an acrobat,” Ozai asked, attempting to provoke her. 

“I worked on myself,” Azula said. “Ty worked on me and I worked on Ty,” she said, waving her hand. 

Ty Lee smiled and looked at Azula. 

“You did good work,” she said. 

Azula turned to her and impulsively leaned forward to kiss her. 

Ty Lee blushed but made no comment. 

Ozai looked visibly repulsed. 

“Ty isn’t just anybody,” Azula said. 

“Caring for another person is the ultimate weakness,” Ozai said. 

“How can that statement have any kind of credibility coming from you,” Azula said. “You never cared for anyone and now you’re powerless and in prison. If anything, relying on no one but yourself is the ultimate weakness.”

Ty Lee melted a little inside when Azula said that. It was such a stark contrast to the girl who’d been so broken at the end of the war. She was so proud of her wife’s growth. 

“The next thing that kept me away,” Azula said, “was everyone’s concern that I would either defect back to you or murder you where you sat, depending on who you asked.”

“I have supporters out there, you know,” Ozai said, threateningly. 

“Oh please,” Azula said, dismissively. She generated a small amount of lighting on her two fingers. “I have more control in the tip of my pinky than you have with all of your “supporters” from this little cell.”

Ozai didn’t reply to that comment. 

“Eventually I made everyone’s fears go away,” she said. “And the only thing that stood between us and this meeting was the disinterest from before. Then something amazing happened that changed my mind.”

“Care to enlighten me,” Ozai drawled. He spoke slowly and collectively but any semblance of upper hand he had was gone. Azula was completely in control of the conversation.

“I woke up one day with no nightmares. No stress, no residual fear, no paranoia, nothing,” Azula said. “Almost all of my leftover problems, problems you caused, were finally resolved after years of hard work.”

“I’m still so proud of you for that,” Ty Lee interjected. 

Azula rubbed her hand with her thumb. 

“And I’m grateful to you for the help,” she said. 

Ozai rolled his eyes. 

“You got better and decided to come see me,” he asked. 

“Yep!” Azula said. “I wanted to see you one time before I put you out of my mind forever.”

“You’ll never be able to do that,” Ozai said. “I will forever permeate your subconsciousness.”

“Ha,” Azula snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Ozai narrowed his eyes at her.

“It doesn’t take much, even now to put you out of my mind,” she said. “Would you like a demonstration?”

“I don’t want to watch you do meditation techniques my idiot brother probably taught you,” Ozai said. 

“Oh that’s not what I do,” Azula said. “Although if I did you’d still have to watch it until the hour was up. It’s not like you can go anywhere,” she smirked. 

“What do you do ‘Zula,” Ty Lee prompted. “To put him out of your head?”

Azula rolled her neck, cracking it. 

“Easy,” she said. She turned to her wife and pulled her into her lap. 

“‘Zula what are you doing,” Ty Lee whispered, blushing furiously. “Your dad…”

“I will never see him again in either of our lifetimes,” Azula said. “After everything he’s put me through he deserves this.”

Ty Lee rested her arms on Azula’s shoulders. 

“What are you about to do,” Ozai growled. 

“When I kiss Ty, the whole world melts away,” Azula said, brushing Ty Lee’s face with her hand, causing her wife to giggle. “You are about to see a demonstration.”

“Agni,” Ozai said, his eyes widening. “You can’t force me to watch this or listen to this.”

Azula shrugged. 

“We are going to make out. You can either take it like a man or sit there with your eyes screwed shut and your fingers in your ears like a child. I don’t really care either way,” she said. 

Ty Lee giggled at the menace behind her words. She knew Azula's competitive and spiteful nature came from her father, and now either option this man chose would make him look bad. 

Ozai watched incredulously as Azula leaned forward and captured Ty Lee’s lips on her own.

At first Ty Lee was shy but Azula wasn’t lying when she said that their kisses made the rest of the world fade away. Eventually she was able to return her wife’s passion.

“Help! Guard!” Ozai called. “Guard!” 

Azula pulled back for a moment and chuckled at him. 

“Is this why you told the guard not to come if he asked for help,” Ty Lee whispered. “You wanted to do this all along?”

Azula smiled against her lips. 

“You’re a bit of a genius,” Ty Lee asked. “I still think this is embarrassing and inappropriate but it’s a fabulous punishment.”

“Isn’t it?” Azula asked. 

The end of the hour came too soon and as the women left the cell Azula felt lighter than she ever had before. 

“I love you Ty,” she said. 

“I love you too ‘Zula.”

“See you never Ozai!” Azula called as the door closed behind her, completely intending on keeping her promise.


End file.
